U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs CWV - News Update

Today’s #VeteranOfTheDay is Air Force Veteran Patricia J. McIntire. Patricia served from 1949 to 1952 and 1953 to 1954. [From VAntage Point]

We honor your service, Patricia!

Infertility is a common problem for women in the United States. According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, about 12% of women between the ages of 15 and 44 years old have difficulty conceiving or carrying a pregnancy to term. [From VAntage Point]

The 2nd Annual Women Veterans Informational Seminar took place on Friday and Saturday at Wyndam Garden Inn in Shreveport. The seminar was presented by the Women Veterans of the Arklatex, the Disabled American Veterans (DAV) Chapter 30 and Overton Brooks VA Medical Center. [From KSLA]

America’s first female astronaut candidate, pilot Jerrie Cobb, who pushed for equality in space but never reached its heights, has died. Cobb died in Florida at age 88 on March 18 following a brief illness. [From Air Force Times]

On Wednesday, March 6, the junior senator from Arizona, Martha McSally, revealed that while on active duty she had been raped by a superior officer. Sadly, Senator McSally’s experience is far from unique and not even unique for a United States Senator. Earlier this year Senator Joni Ernst of Iowa, another military combat Veteran, revealed that she too was raped, though in her case it occurred in college, not while she was on active duty. [From Inkstick]

“Trailblazer” and “pioneer” are the words often used to describe Capt. Rosemary Bryant Mariner. In 1974, she was one of six women to earn her wings and become an aviator as well as one of the first female Navy jet pilots, flying the A-4C and the A-7E Corsair II. [From VAntage Point]

VA offers access to a variety of care services for Veterans with disabilities and supports women Veterans by providing specific prosthetic items to meet their unique needs. The term “prosthetic” includes any medical device that supports or replaces the loss of a body part or function. [From VAntage Point]

More female officers should be serving in top Navy command posts, the admiral nominated to lead the service said Tuesday, but it could take years for it to happen. About a quarter of new Navy officers are women, but they're not staying on long enough to serve in key leadership positions. Of the more than 370 naval officers recently promoted to captain -- the rank at which officers can lead major commands such as aircraft carriers, amphibious assault ships or submarine squadrons -- about 8% were women. [From Military.com]

As more women pursue careers in the military, their numbers in the senior enlisted and officer ranks have increased dramatically, according to a report released last week by the Service Women’s Action Network. In 1988, less than 4% of those in the three senior enlisted paygrades (E7 to E9) were women. But as of February 2018, women constituted 11.8% of the E7 to E9 ranks in the Army; 20.3% in the Air Force; 11.6% in the Navy; 5.6% in the Marine Corps; and 8.7% in the Coast Guard, the report states. [From Military.com]

More than most people, Air Force Lt. Col. N’Keiba Estelle knows the full circle of military life. Her father was an Air Force senior master sergeant stationed at MacDill Air Force Base. [From Tampa Bay Times]

Some folks would consider running just one marathon to be the ultimate accomplishment. For Chief Warrant Officer 4 Beofra Butler, that was the beginning of a long journey leading up to April 15’s Boston Marathon that will be the 100th marathon in which she has competed. [From Army Times]

Today’s #VeteranOfTheDay is Marine Corps Veteran Dorothy Louis Hall Hill. Dorothy served during World War II from 1944 to 1946. [From VAntage Point]

We honor her service.

Today, VA announced that its National Cemetery Administration (NCA) is partnering with Carry the Load a nonprofit organization that provides active ways to connect Americans to the sacrifices made daily by the U.S. military, Veterans, first responders and their families. NCA will participate in Carry The Load’s Memorial May awareness campaign, which covers 40 states, leading up to Memorial Day 2019. [From VAntage Point]

Jackie Huber was one of the few, but she never felt particularly proud as a female Marine. She spent 20 years in the Marine Corps, from 1984 to 2004, and rose from the enlisted ranks to chief warrant officer. [From Stars and Stripes]

A new study offers few definitive conclusions for why fewer women choose to stay in the Coast Guard compared to men, but it offers several reasons why they want to get out. The report, released a few weeks ago by the non-profit RAND Corporation, was commissioned by the Coast Guard and is the first study in nearly 30 years to look at women in the service’s ranks. [From Navy Times]